A Café Story: The Home-schooled Shut-In
by filtered
Summary: The Kishin has been freed and has gone into hiding. Now, on a cold day in Germany, Joe Buttataki sits down with an old friend who tells him his story. The story of the adventures of Siegfried Cyprus, a young Demon Weapon who was born a sick, home-schooled shut-in and eventually accepted into the DWMA. Contains OC x Maka. Rewrite of Past FanFic!
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**A Prologue of Sorts...**

"Siegfried... it's good to see you again!"  
"Yeah, you too, Joe."  
"I'm really glad we were able to meet up here. This is your home town, am I right?"  
"Right as rain."  
"What?"

He took a sip from his hot chocolate.

"Never mind. But yeah, I live a mile or two from here. This place is _huge_."  
"True, but this... _this_ is a landmark. I _still_ can't believe Bob has a shop way over here... you know what they say about his coffee?"  
"Yes yes, makes you do the Ramba and what not."  
"That's sad, friend... you're not even_ drinking_ coffee. Aren't you always tired?  
"Yeah, but I'm the sort of tired person who accepts it and just sleeps through his day."  
"Fair enough... by the way... how's your sweetheart doing? She's back at the DWMA, right?"  
"Yeah. Hell if I know how she's doing, I haven't written her yet. Things have been... difficult."  
"I meant to ask, how _did_ you end up all the way out here? Heck, how did you even become a Demon Weapon? Wasn't your family the most uptight here in Germany? And further more..."  
"Whoa whoa, take it easy JB, it's a _long_ story."

Joe Buttataki leaned back in his chair, an easy grin on his face.

"Lay it on me; I've got all the time in the world thanks to this coffee."

Siegfried Cyprus drummed his fingers on the cafe table; a habit that was only starting.

"Fine, fine." He stretched his arms and sighed. "Just don't expect it to be all that exciting..."

* * *

It's insane, really... one moment you're training for the fifteenth week in a row (yes, I counted) for your strict father and one of the most prominent families in Germany, the next you're holding hands with the two-star Meister you're madly obsessed with. Of course, between those two moments, just to make things interesting, you're struck with some mind-bending disease that no one can put their finger on, not even the top scientists and doctors in the whole freakin' world...

...

...Guess it's just another day for the DWMA's #1 Home-Schooled Shut-In...

* * *

"Ugh, dad, gimme another five minutes... I don't want to train today..."

"Shut up and get dressed, you're going to miss your first break. You're lucky that I'm even reminding you."

Siegfried opened his eyes slowly, Stein's damned head-screw killing his eardrums, his cigarette burning his sense of smell.

"Ugh, fine. Thanks, Doc."

Siegfried Cyprus' schedule at the DWMA was rather straightforward; it consisted of waking up, a 45-minute period in which he was free to roam the school while classes were going on behind closed doors, a check-up (where he was forced to eat inside the Dispensary while students ate lunch in the cafeteria), a second free period, then back to the cell for the rest of the day.

Yep, seven more hours stuck in the Dispensary, sunset flooding through the windows. Of course, it wasn't all bad; there was always the library, where Siegfried always went during his breaks. He would walk in and immediately start searching the shelves for two or three promising novels (horror stories were his favorite) and crack one open on a comfortable looking chair.

The sound of an old book cracking open has always been one of his least favorite noises, despite that he loved to read. It wasn't his fault and it wasn't the book's fault; it was whatever was inside of him, whatever made him cough blood five times every hour. Remembering the fact that he was completely alone made opening a book in the empty library sound eerie, almost unpleasant. Sometimes he felt like crying. Hell, sometimes he _did _cry a little. Maybe a tear or two would slip down his cheek and he had to wipe it with the back of his hand. Then he would push the thought of being completely alone to the farthest corner of his mind and start to read. That took care of the problem.

Same-old, same-old.

As for his home life before the Academy, well, let's just say that he couldn't complain about his life now after the train wreck _that_ was.

"Siegfried! Work on your stance, your footing is off!"  
"Siegfried! Grasp your Zweihänder properly! So sloppy!"  
"Excellent work, son! Train for another sixteen hours, and you may get some rest."

_Shut up shut up shut up shut UP!_

But, of course, Frederick Cyprus refused to refrain from having his son go through his "diabolical" training process. Poor Sig got barely any sleep, at the most three hours a day. Even while his parents were off visiting family, Siegfried was told to stay home and train his poor ass off. Of course, training was the farthest thing from his mind while his parents were away... all he did was sleep and read. Thankfully, it always worked in his favor and he never got caught.

Of course, even with the horrendous training and strict protocol, life got worse.

Around his tenth birthday, he got sick. _Really_ sick. He started coughing blood about five times an hour and he started vomiting, almost uncontrollably. Even though his son was bedridden for months, Frederick showed his son no mercy; he constantly reminded his son that it was right back to training as soon as he was better.

To put things simply, Siegfried deserved a break.

Little did he know that he was about to get one real soon...

**Chapter 1: Scheduling Picnics is Such Bliss**

"Have you been coughing blood recently?" Stein asked.

Siegfried sat with his arm over his eyes, relaxing on his hospital bed. It was lunch time and he was starving; he always had to go through a checkup before having lunch. "Not really. Maybe once every... three hours. Why?"

"Well, I've been going over your text results, and... it seems..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you're not ready to start taking classes, but your soul is actually looking pretty stable and your heart is beating at a normal pace again."

"In other words?" _Cut to the damn chase, doc._

"You're... healthy."

There was a long pause, the only sound being Stein's flickering cigarette. Siegfried's eyes were open wide, an expression of utter shock on his face. Healthy. After weeks of imprisonment in a school infirmary, he was finally healthy.

"Does that mean, I can... you know..."

"Leave the infirmary? ... Yes, I'd say so. Just remember, you still have to spend your nights here, understood?"

It took just about all that Siegfried had to keep himself from standing up and screaming with joy. Instead he racked his mind, thinking of what to do first. _Should I eat lunch with other students? Finally make some damn friends? No, I'll go train with Jaxx! I haven't seen the dude in ages! ..._

_...No... I'll go to the library. So I can read sitting next to someone. So I can say hello to someone in this damn Academy. I hope your watching, gramps; Lord Death is the best thing to happen to this family for generations...  
_

"Professor Stein!" A voiced called from outside of the infirmary. The door opened suddenly and Siegfried saw _her _for the first time. He caught his breath and pretended to be asleep, his eyes squinted so he could see.

What he was able to see was enough to make his heart beat rapidly and his face begin to burn.

"What is it, Maka?" Stein replied.

"I just wanted to go over the lesson today. Could you review these?" She looked at Siegfried lying in bed. "Oh, am I interrupting something important?"

_Holy crap, she's hot!_ Siegfried's eyes went straight to her pigtails, then her eyes, then to her body, where they stayed for a few minutes.

"No, everything's fine," Stein continued. "I was just discussing Siegfried's daily checkup. 'Seems he's able to leave the hospital bed now."

"Really? That's interesting."

A lightbulb went off in Stein's mind. "Siegfried. Wake up."

Siegfried did his best to pretend that he was just waking up after a long nap. He yawned, able to keep his eyes off of "Maka's" body.

"What's up, doc?"

"This is your first time leaving the infirmary. Therefore, you should have someone give you a tour and show you how things work around here."

"A... tour?"

"That's right." He nodded to Maka. "Do you mind spending the rest of the day helping Siegfried out?"

"Sure! That sounds okay." She turned to him. "Nice to meet you, Siegfried," she said with a smile.

...

Maka and Siegfried walked side-by-side through the Academy. The former would point out various important locations that Siegfried was to remember. Of course, the love bug had it's jaws firmly clamped onto Siegfried, so he was unable to pay attention to anything that Maka was saying.

"Here's the mission board. Whenever you have a..."  
_She has an adorable little flat chest... she looks like a girl who wouldn't get mad if I look at it... God knows I won't..._

"Down here is the dungeon, where we..."  
_Look at those damn pigtails... whenever she takes a step they bounce a little... I want to play with them..._

As they neared the Academy Library, Maka asked a common question.

"So, how long have you been sick exactly?" Maka asked.

"It was on and off during my childhood... it hit me pretty hard a few weeks ago. That's why I was stuck in the infirmary for so long."

"Oh. I'm glad you're okay now! Anyway, this is the-"

"The library... hell yes I know about it, I _love_ this place."

"You do?"

"Yeah... reading is probably my favorite hobby."

A bright smile appeared between Maka's cheeks, one that Siegfried would find himself dreaming about that night. "What a coincidence, same here!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I've loved reading ever since i was a little girl."

Siegfried stood with his mouth almost hanging open. _She... she likes to read... she's... perfect! Maybe I can..._

"Oh ... Maybe we can..." He blushed, but only for half of a second. "...Get together and... read sometime?"

He turned his head and shut his eyes, bracing for rejection. _Hell, she barely even knows me. I doubt we have anything in common besides the obvious..._

"Sure! Maybe over a picnic?"

"Say what?"

She twiddled her thumbs. "Well, you're the first person I've met who enjoys reading as much as I do, so it's kind of exciting. You don't mind, do you?"

_Like hell I mind... _"Sounds good. Maybe... this Saturday?"

"Perfect!" The bell rang. "Guess that means the tour is over, huh?"

"Yeah. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it."

"No worries. Just ask me if you need anything, alright?"

"Okay."

As Maka and Siegfried parted ways, the latter lowered his head.

"I'm sick, alright... sick with love..."


	2. Chapter 2: Opening the Door Into Chaos

**Chapter 2: Opening The Door Into Chaos  
**

"Dude, these are _delicious_!"

"They're just pancakes, what are you getting worked up over?"

"I've eaten pancakes before, nothing special, but _these_? These are amazing. I'm serious."

Siegfried wiped his hands with the dishtowel on the counter. "Thanks, I guess."

Jaxx finished the last piece on his plate and belched. "I gotta say, it's good having you live here now."

"What, so you can mooch off of my cooking?"

"Yeah, pretty much!"

"You're an idiot."

"I know."

Siegfried sighed as he began to wash more dishes. _I'm finally out of the damn infirmary, now I'm a maid for my partner. Fantastic._ He was let out of the infirmary just three days ago after Stein proposed that he was healthy enough to spend nights outside of his bedroom (cell). Jaxx, Siegfried's less-than-reliable Meister, invited him to stay over at his house...

...For less-than-reliable purposes.

"Don't eat so much; I have to shop for ingredients, you know."

"Don't worry about it! Lord Death gives us money, doesn't he?" He took a spoon and dipped it in syrup.

"It's only supposed to be used responsibly, not for throwing food into that bottomless pit you call a stomach."

Jaxx sighed and rested his head against the back of his chair. "Ugh, more of this goody-two-shoes crap. You remind me someone..." A smirk appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, you know who else would enjoy your cooking?"

Siegfried looked up from the sink. "Hm?"

He grinned. "Ma...ka..."

A vein bulged in Siegfried's head, along with a slight blush on his face. "...You know about how I feel about her. Cut it out."

"I know that every time I mention her you turn into a vegetable. A beet, in particular."

"...I'm just not good with girls, that's all."

"Just go up and talk to her. It's not like you guys don't have a lot in common."

"We like to read. ... That's it."

"That's actually a lot; she's always holding that book of hers."

Siegfried changed into his striped sweater. "...I guess I could ask her what book she's reading to start something."

"There! First step, done." He snapped his fingers. "You can ask her on that little picnic you guys have scheduled."

Siegfried froze. "How did you know about that?"

"Dude, _everyone_ in the Academy knows about your little crush on Maka... except for, well, Maka."

"Seriously? Can't my life be private for _one_ day?"

"Nope." He noticed what Siegfried was wearing. "Why do you always wear that sweater?"

"Because I always get cold, why?"

"'Because you always get cold?' Hmm..." He began to speak in a grueling impression of Maka. "Ooooh Siegfried, my pigtails are blowing everywhere, come over here and hold them!"

For a while he said nothing, the only sound in the room being the vein bulging in his head. "Fine then," he said finally. "No more pancakes for you, then. Ever." He walked out of the kitchen with a smile as Jaxx fell out of his chair.

...

Siegfried stood in front of the door to the EAT class, his heart racing. _Here we go... my first day at the Academy... I've waited weeks for this day to come..._ He clenched his fists, sweat beading on his forehead. _Maybe I shouldn't have worn a sweater after all..._

Jaxx stopped him before he could reach for the doorknob. "Hold it right there, Siggy."

"Get out of my way," he responded angrily. "I'm going in there, and you can't stop me."

"Easy, easy," he said cautiously, palms held out in front of him. "I'm just giving you a warning or two before you step in."

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine... make it quick."

"First and foremost-" He pointed a thumb at the door. "-_She's_ in there."

Siegfried Cyprus felt his heart skip a beat. No, that wasn't the right way to put it; his heart threw up in his chest. _Nope. Really shouldn't have worn a sweater._

"What's she doing?" He asked without thinking. He later sighed in disgust that day for asking such an odd question.

"'What's she doing?' Hmm... probably reading, I guess..." He nodded with his chin in his palm, confirming his statement. "Yeah, class doesn't start for another twenty minutes, so she's probably reading her book right now."

Siegfried took a deep sigh. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

Jaxx stepped aside and bowed comically, welcoming him. "After you."

He opened the door and his eyes opened wide. _It looks like a university in here... the desks are all positioned neatly in a rather odd but proper fashion... _he noticed that a lot of students hadn't shown up yet. _No surprise, 20 minutes before class starts, after all._ As Jaxx followed him inside, a familiar voice called.

"There you guys are! We've been waiting." Siegfried and Jaxx were greeted by Maka and her partner, Soul. "How's your first day going so far, Siegfried?"

He gave a rather wide smile. "Great, thanks for asking. I forgot how much of a pain in the ass it was to wake up, but I feel good nonetheless."

"A good night sleep should take care of that," she said informatively. She looked at her partner with discontent and elbowed him gently. He glanced at her with the same emotion and smiled at Siegfried.

"What's up man, heard a lot about you." He offered his hand.

"Soul, right? Same." He shook his hand. "I hope what _you've _heard was... good."

"Yeah man, people are pretty excited to see the 'Cello Ghost' showing his face in class."

Maka looked at her partner with curiosity. "'Cello Ghost?' What do you-"

"It's nothing really," Siegfried said, scratching his head. "Just a nickname I was given before I started taking classes. It's a long story and I don't want to bore you with the details."

"Oh. Well, we should be taking our seats anyway, class is going to start soon."

"We have 15 minutes left," Soul responded, "you don't have to be so punctual."

She looked away, irritated. "I'm at the top of my class, and I'd like to stay there, if you don't mind."

"Whatever." He noticed that Siegfried was watching Maka walk up and take her seat. He grinned a toothy grin. "Oh yeah, you're the one who has a crush on Maka."

Siegfried rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled rather pathetically. "Yeah... I'm guessing everyone here knows except for her?"

"Pretty much."

As Soul and Siegfried walked up to take their seats, the latter asked something that was on his mind from the beginning. "By the way... are you two... you know..."

"In a relationship?" Siegfried nodded slowly. Soul chuckled in a way that made Siegfried cringe, and grinned another toothy grin. "I can see how you would think that... but don't worry, we're not. Not even close, if you want me to be brutally honest."

"Seriously? Here I thought you two were meant for each other." _Why the hell am I encouraging them?_

"You kidding? Me with someone like _her_? Please. Not cool at all."

Siegfried gave him a look of hate and Soul placed a hand on his shoulder "Relax man, I just mean that we're not compatible. We're usually at each other's throats half of the time."

"I see." He looked away for a second and said, "I don't suppose... you have any advice?"

He almost laughed out loud. "Believe it or not, I just might." He put a hand to his chin that reminded Siegfried of his own partner. "You're gonna want to be careful around her. Make sure you don't say the wrong thing; she's painfully sharp. But take it from me- sort of like a musician-to-musician thing- you're off to a good start. She already told me about your picnic that's coming up... heck, she won't shut up about it. You've got a good thing going here, man."

Another wide smile. "Thanks, I guess." He scoffed. "Hold on, you think I'm a musician? Hardly."

"You know what I mean. Anyway, there's a seat open to her right. Go for it."

"Alright then."

Siegfried walked over to the seat next to Maka, opening the door to the utter chaos that was about to ensue.


	3. Chapter 3: The Spark

**Chapter 3: The Spark**

They almost looked identical, their eyes buried in the pages. Siegfried was somehow able to keep himself calm, despite the fact that he was sitting next to his crush.

_Just need to stay perfectly still. Keep your eyes on the book, don't even look at her. Don't stress yourself out, either._ Maka turned to Siegfried with curiosity and asked him what book he was reading.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, just a horror story."

She cocked her head. "A horror story? What kind?"

"What do you...?"

"Ghost story? Murderers?"

"Oh! Well, it's sort of like a journal dating back to the 1500's where an explorer encounters some odd phenomena. It's in Latin, so I'm sort of testing myself."

"Sounds interesting."

"You?"

"It's one of Lord Death's journals before he founded the school."

Siegfried closed his eyes and imagined Death writing in a small journal and chuckled.

"What's up?" Maka asked.

"I'm just wondering how small his journal is. I mean, his hands are huge, how was he supposed to write in a little journal like that?"

To his surprise, Maka giggled. "You do have a point. Maybe his journal was ten times bigger than his hands."

Siegfried decided to keep the train going. "Dear diary, it's pouring right now. It's _totally_ ruining my plans for a picnic, I was going to eat my tasty sandwich!" Apparently his Lord Death impersonation was better than expected; Maka hid her mouth with her book and closed her eyes, giggling. "What's-"

She flapped her hand. "No no, it's nothing. I don't like making fun of him, but that's exactly how he talks in his journal."

"Seriously? That's just too funny."

She pouted. "You're kind of ruining the book, you know."

He sighed. "Right, right. My apologies, almighty top-class student."

A vein bulged as she closed her book suddenly, making Sig jump. "You're lucky you're new here. Otherwise the spine of my book would be indented in your brain."

"Ah, the feared 'Maka Chop.' Trust me, I'm all but aware of _that;_ Jaxx told me all about it."

Another vein as she opened her book again. "Oh really," she said, irritated. "What else did he say about me?"

Siegfried started counting his fingers, pretending to be lost in thought. As he did, he could feel Maka's anger beginning to boil. As deep in love with her as he was, he enjoyed teasing her.

"_Just what exactly are you counting!?"_

"Haha, I'm just kidding around; he was only giving me the rundown of how things work around in the classroom." That was only half of a lie; Jaxx told everything he knew about Maka to Siegfried that morning. "1, Don't piss of Maka. 2, Blackstar is an idiot. 3..."

"Can't argue with that second one, honestly."

"Where is the spaz, anyway?"

"No idea... probably outside getting himself into a fight; Tsubaki isn't here either."

"An idiot who always gets himself into fights... reminds me of my partner."

...

"...Now," Sid bellowed as class droned on, "based on the content we went over yestarday on page 74, who can tell me the percentage of witches located in North America?"

To much of the classroom's surprise, two hands shot up. Whispers and conversations spread throughout the large classroom.

_Wha? Who's the other..._ Maka and Siegfried turned and realized that they were the only ones with their hands up.

"O-oh, that's okay, after you!" Maka said.

"T-thanks..." He turned his head back to Sid lowly, gulped and said: "About 32 percent?"

A rather long pause.

"That's... correct," Sid said reluctantly. "Very good, Siegfried."

More yammering as Maka turned to Sig. "Impressive! I didn't think you would get that one right."

He rubbed the back of his neck rather nervously. "Don't give me that much credit... I sort of cheated; see, I was so tired of being stuck in the infirmary that I studied my butt off."

She frowned. "Don't say it like that. You studied hard and got a difficult answer correct! There's no need to put pressure on yourself." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've got a brain, and you know how to use-"

A spark. A small one, but it was something. They didn't feel it, but they did. In their souls. They sat frozen, unwilling to speak.

At last, Soul spoke up from Maka's left. "Hey, you alright? You guy's have been sitting there looking like you've seen a ghost or something."

Siegfried was the first to snap bag to reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I don't know what happened, I guess I zoned out for some reason." He noticed that Maka was still in her hypnotized state. "Hey, Maka? You okay?"

_I need to see the Professor. Now. Right now._ She raised the hand that she placed on Sig's shoulder just seconds ago without a word. "Excuse me, my I use the restroom, please?"

...

An hour later, the class spilling out for lunch.

"Yo, Siegfried," Soul called. "What the hell happened? Maka rarely takes bathroom breaks in the middle of class, let alone for the whole session."

"No idea..." a childish idea made its way into his head. "What if I creeped her out or something? Oh jeez, this isn't good!" He started sweating.

"Hey, calm down. Trust me, if Maka had a problem with you, she'd tell you."

"Are you sure? I just don't see why- Maka! There you are."

She walked up to the two boys and smiled. "Hey, sorry I was gone for so long."

"What happened?"

"Oh, just... gender-specific difficulties." She accompanied this sentence with a light blush. For a fake blush, she did a pretty good job. As soon as she exited the classroom after that lie about having to use the restroom, she went straight to the infirmary to talk with Professor Stein.

"What exactly did you feel?" The professor asked.

"...It was sort of like the feeling I get when I use Soul Perception... like I could feel his soul pulsating... I felt like I could hear it... I know it sounds odd, but-"

"I expected this sort of thing to happen." He put out his cigarette. "While I was doing a checkup on Siegfried, I noticed that his soul was stable and his heart was beating normally... except... there was something else going on. Although it was stable, his soul was behaving oddly."

"How so?"

"It's just as you said; unexplainable. All that we know now is that it had a peculiar reaction to... where did you touch him exactly?"

"I placed a hand on his shoulder. That's all."

"Hm. Interesting. Since you're the only person who Siegfried has this reaction to, I need you to spend some time with him."

"Spend some time?"

"Get to know him, talk to him. For all we know, we could be benefiting him by doing this."

"...I understand."

...

As she walked with Siegfried and Soul to the lunchroom, she thought to herself.

_Get to know him... get to know Siegfried Cyprus..._

She glanced at him, still remembering the conversation that they had in the classroom and smiled warmly.

_...Sounds like a good idea._


	4. Chapter 4: No Mistletoe

**Chapter 4: No Mistletoe**

He knew that he was officially screwed the moment he agreed to take part in it. The damn gift exchange. When you're stuck in your freezing house in Germany training for 365 days a year (including that crazy one where you leave sugar treats for some overweight jerk so he can break into your house and leave presents that he _somehow_ knew you wanted), you're pretty slow when it comes to the holidays.

When Siegfried first received the name of the person he was assigned to purchase gifts for,  
_("Secret Santa?" That's just ridiculous)_  
his throat went dry and immediately requested that he switched with his partner. Of course, he had no intention of even thinking of a "perfectly symmetrical" gift for Lord Death's basket case of a son, so he later changed his mind.

He sat with his hands clasped against the sides of his head (in a noble yet hilarious attempt to keep his brain from tumbling out), his seventh cup of eggnog sitting patiently on the table in front of him, the name of his assigned person throbbing in his brain.

_Maka... what the hell am I supposed to buy for..._

...

"...Maka? Dude, easy: just buy her a book or something."

"A _book_? what are you, nuts?" He was already frustrated about arguing with his partner over such stupid things: who was in charge of purchasing the eggnog, who was in charge of decorating the apartment (ri-diculous) and, just recently, over Siegfried's "distasteful" sweater (because switching from a gray sweater with black stripes to a red one with white stripes apparently makes you look like a giant fucking candy cane).

"Yeah, I'm serious. What are you getting all worked up over?"

He sighed. "I really want to get her something meaningful. To me, getting her a stingy book doesn't cut it."

"Even though she loves to read?" Sig nodded. "I can't say that I agree, honestly."

"Oh?" _Here we go again; more stupid arguing. _"Why's that?"

"You're thinking with your hart too much." He pointed to his skull. "Your sweatshop up here needs to start working."

"Wait, what? It's _wrong_ of me to want to get something to show her how much I love her?"

"What I'm _saying_ is that you need to cool it. Maka doesn't know that you like her yet. Unless you're planning on telling her on Christmas Eve, spending your cash on something expense isn't the best idea."

He opened his mouth to say something and closed it. He couldn't argue with that. "Alright, you've got a point. Still, I have to get her _something_... He lowered his eyes. "Crap."

"Hm?"

"I have a really awkward idea."

...

"I'm sorry, but you do not reach the age requirement to enter. You must be 21 years or older to enter Chupa-"

"Please, I just want to speak to Mr. Death Scy-"

"Siegfried?" The familiar voice made Sig's already reddened face grow hot. "What are you doing here?"

He turned around quickly, trying his best to come up with an excuse. "Maka! Hey, I was just, uh, you know, taking a walk, and-"

"...And you tried to enter Chupacabra's..." She gave him a disgusted look.

"Nonononono! I mean, I just wanted to ask your father-"

As if on cue, Maka''s father slumbered past the waitress and out of the foul-smelling building. "Hey hey hey!" He cried drunkenly. "These ladies really know how to celebrate during the holidays, huh...?" His awkward question trailed off as he noticed his daughter and her expression. The tip of his Santa hat dangled in front of him pathetically.

...

"MAKAAAA! Why won't you love me!?"

_Maybe it's because you're a drunken mess all the damn time? _Sig slid a box of tissues across the table with his finger. _Thankfully, I was able to explain to Maka why I was at that hellhole without revealing that I was getting her a gift..._

"So why did you want to talk to me?" Spirit asked, sobbing. He plucked a tissue.

"Well, I'm sort of Maka's... Secret... Santa..." He twiddled his thumbs, his face red.

"And you came to me for an idea of what to get her?" He blew his nose rather loudly as Siegfried nodded. "Very wise of you. So, what was the gift that you had in mind?"

"Well, Jaxx was thinking of getting her a book, but-"

_Unacceptable! _He slammed his fist on the table.

"B-but I said that was nonsense and that I should get her something better!"

"Heh, damn straight!" Nothings too good for my sweet little girl!" He clasped his hands together, his eyes bright.

_Jeez, this dude is a lunatic._

...

She had her ear against the door from the moment she heard her father's irritating sobs. She was about to walk off with a look of irritation on her face when she heard Siegfried's voice.

_Ugh... why does he have to be so pathetic... but why is Siegfried... ... Oh..._

She waited until the conversation was over and greeted Siegfried as he stepped out of the office, surprised reaction and all.

"H-hey! How's everything going?" He asked her.

"Fine, you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking back at the office. "Things... could be better."

She smiled. "So you're my Secret Santa, huh?"

"Wha? How did you-"

"Trust me, I know my Papa's crying when I hear it. I couldn't resist listening in."

He shook his head. "Well, since you already know... is there anything in particular that you would want?"

Maka lowered her eyes  
_(She looks so cute when she does that)_  
and said: "Really. You of all people are asking me that? Knowing what my hobby is?" As if to prove her point, she brought out the book that she was hiding behind her back.

Sig chuckled. "Trust me; getting you a book was the first thing on my mind, but..."

"But...?"

"Well... I wanted to get you something more... you know..." He looked away, unable to keep a blush off of his face. "...Meaningful."

She cocked her head to one side. "Meaningful?" She noticed his reddened face and darting eyes and smiled. "...Siegfried?" When he looked back at her, she walked over to him and slowly kissed his cheek, hands behind her back in that adorable way, blonde pigtails bouncing. She pulled her head back and giggled at his reaction. "Mistletoe," she said softly, and walked off.

Siegfried, who was having a nervous breakdown on the inside and a mini heatstroke on the outside, looked up slowly and was surprised to see that the ceiling was completely empty.

...

Sig hung his gift from Blackstar over the couch in the apartment as Jaxx devoured his gift from Tsubaki with bliss.

"SO," Jaxx asked, his mouth full, "you got Maka a book after all, eh?" No response. Jaxx watched his partner turn around with his hand on his left cheek. "Dude?"

"...I'm never washing this cheek again." He threw himself on the couch, the mediocre signed self-portrait of Blackstar hanging on the wall above.

"No mistletoe."


End file.
